Ryan tells us that the final 71 contestants performed with a full band.  After they finished singing, there was no feedback from the judges.  Once all the contestants performed the judges picked who would stay and who would go.  In traditional American Idol style, the contestants are divided into three rooms.  Now here’s the thing.  Three favorites that American Idol has been highlighting are in three separate rooms.   Angela Martin, the young bluesy girl is in room three.  Casey James, the long-haired blond guy is in room one.  Jermaine Purifoy, Casey’s buddy, is in room two.  This should mean that one of the three will be gone soon, but which one?  I can’t guess because they all sounded good to me.

After the commercial, Ryan starts highlighting individual singers in room one:

Jermaine Sellers sings Man in the Mirror.  He does a good job, but then he does a really stupid things and says that the band didn’t play the way they practiced.  As Kara says, “he threw the band under the bus”.

Siobhan Magnus is the 19 year-old that Ellen said seemed old.  She seems to have taken Ellen’s words to heart and does a peppy, young-style song.

Crystal Bowersox sings with her guitar and harmonica.

Alex Lambert does Jason Mraz, as does Michael Lynche and Todrick Hall.  Todrick Hall is one of my favorites, I like his singing as well as his amazing eyes!

Thaddeus Johnson is the big momma’s boy.  He sings Man in the Mirror and wins me over again.  He’s just so lovable.

After the break, we move on to Room Two:

In this room is the seventeen-year-old Charity Vance, the pastor Tasha Leighton, rocker mom Mary Powers, Lloyd Thomas, police officer Brian Walker and Hope Johnson.  Uh-oh, it doesn’t look good for this room!  They don’t even show Brian Walker’s final performance.

Room Three is loaded with talent:

Shelby Dressel panics prior to her performance because she doesn’t know the words, but she does really well when it counts.

Aaron Kelly, our PA favorite, freezes at the beginning of his song, but then does a really charming version of In the Arms of the Angels (is that the name?) and still gets my vote!

Ashley Rodriguez is definitely a contender.  She has the looks, the confidence and is a natural performer.  It seems like she already is a star.

Lee Dewyze the cutie with the beanie plays the guitar and sings.

Joe Munoz sounds good.

Haeley Vaughn, another natural, sails through her performance.

Janell Wheeler is having voice problems  but not during her audition.  She doesn’t think she did well, but I can tell she did.

It’s time for the judges to reveal which rooms will stay and which room will go.  Ellen talks in room one and of course teases them, but then finally tells them that they are moving on.  Simon, not surprisingly, is the one to speak in room two.  He doesn’t fool around.  He tells them they were good, but not good enough.  I feel bad for a number of them, but somebody has to go I guess!   Of course, this means that room three is staying which is not surprising because that room is filled with talent.  Randy and Kara break the news.

We are now down to 48 contestants.  The judges will watch the tapes of all the prior auditions and pick the final 24–12 guys and 12 gals.  The judges are set up on the stage of the Kodak Theatre.  Each contestant will go up on the stage and sit before the four judges and hear the final decision.

First up is Michael Lynche.  He’s the guy whose wife just had the baby and…well you know, don’t you?  He makes it to the top 24.  <sigh>

Didi Benami is the girl whose best friend died.  It’s easy to want to see her succeed and she does.  She’s the first girl to make it through.

Katelyn Epperly is the curly haired blond whose mother and father are getting divorced.   Ellen puts her through the wringer, but it’s obvious she’s going through.  She’s the second girl.

Shelby Dressel auditioned in Orlando and she has a slight facial deformity.  She doesn’t make it through but Randy tells her to try again.  I am disappointed, I liked her and wanted to see her succeed.  I thought she had a great voice, but I think her lack of experience and confidence kept her out of the top 24 this year.  I hope we see her again next year.

Casey James  the blond cutie is next. Kara has a crush on him and I bet she’s not alone!  He’s in the top 24.

Aaron Kelly, my PA boy is next!!!  He’s had both ups and downs so I’m not sure if he’s going through.  But he does and I’m thrilled!!!!  He’s young and inexperienced, it will be fun to see how far he goes in this competition.

Kara tells Lee Dewyze he lacks confidence.  When they play back his last audition, I don’t think he sounds that good so I’m surprised that he makes it through.  Kara says it was a last minute decision.

Toddrick Hall sits down and the judges are looking at him and then Kara says “yes” to which he replies “that’s it?”  Oh thank goodness, he’s one of mine!

Jessica Furney, rejected in Hollywood during season 8 is again rejected.  She begs and begs and begs but it’s way too late for that now.

That’s it for tonight.  Tomorrow we will see the remainder of the top 24.  So, stay tuned…Bloggergal1

Okay, here we go, it’s group day on American Idol.  As AI regulars, you know that this is the day where all the drama plays out.  We’ll learn who the pros are and who the whiners are.

I hope you watched the rehearsals because I can’t describe to you what was going on.  Groups were feeling the competition of rehearsing next to each other.  Some groups weren’t agreeing.  Some groups were resentful that one person was trying to take control.  Some groups stayed up all night.  Other groups went to bed.  In other words, the same thing that happens every year.

It’s morning now and panic is setting in.  Crying and yelling is the norm.  The words are disappearing from their minds.  Yikes!  In between all this, Big Mike’s wife is having the baby.  He’s able to listen to the delivery and hear the baby cry for the first time.  I HATE knowing what happens to this guy.

The first group Ashley Rodriguez, Charity Vance and Michelle Delamore (don’t check my spelling!) are great and they all move on to the next round.  I like all three of these girls.  They sing well, they are professional and they all have a great look.

It’s time for Big Mike’s group.  I enjoy the four guys Michael Lynch, Tim Urban, Michael Castro and Seth Rollins.  Randy divides them into two lines Michael Lynch and Tim Urban in one row and Michael Castro and Seth Rollins in the other.  After the commercial Big Mike and Tim Urban make it through to the next round.  I liked all four of them so I was a little disappointed to see Michael Castro go home.

Next AI highlights the drama of one group feeling that another group took their idea of singing acapella.  They are both singing the same song and the competition and jealousy between the two groups is strong.  Liz Rooney, Thaddeus Johnson, Jessica Cunningham and Paige (last name?) are first to perform.  All four kick butt and move on to the next round.  Up comes the second group Todrick Hall, Theri, Jareb Liewar and Siobham Magnus.  Their performance is a bit more theatrical and includes a somersault by Todrick.  In my opinion, if it was a face off, the second group would win.  All four move on to the next round.  Jareb Liewar is very interesting to me.

The Denver group Tori Kelly, Maddie Penrose (weird glasses), Mark Labriola (computer geek), Kimberly Kerbow and Danny Jones  (nice hair but Idol doesn’t even highlight him in this segment) perform.  Tori and Maddie do well.  Mark doesn’t.  Kimberly forgets the words.  Not surprisingly, Tori and Maddie move on and the other three don’t.  Mark begs for a second chance and I feel bad for him, but what was he doing during his first chance?  It’s do or die and he goes home.  I don’t know why we don’t get to even hear Danny Jones sing, but that’s the way it goes on Idol.

The group including Ben Honeycutt, Jeff Goldford, Moorea Maza and Jermaine Sellers lose their fifth group member at the last minute.  She says she know she was going to do a bad job and doesn’t want to humiliate herself.  Moorea Maza forgets her words and gets no pity from Simon.  Jeff and Jermaine move on, the other two go home.

Remember Matt Lawrence who auditioned in Orlando?  He was the guy who spent four years in jail and is now trying to change his life.  His group is a disaster…they aren’t in tune, they don’t know the words, etc.  The judges stop them and quickly dismiss them.  I don’t know what these people are thinking when they get to group round!

Janelle Wheeler, Jermaine (sorry missed his last name) and  Casey James are really talented and they move on. I would have liked to hear more from the group including Andrew Garcia and Katie Stevens,  JB Ahufua and did they say the name of the fourth one?  Sometimes I think American Idol hides the really, really good singers so that we will be more surprised later on down the road.

The last group of the day includes the twenty-eight year old rocker mom Mary.  Throughout Group Day, American Idol has been highlighting this group as the most disorganized and catty.  They clearly don’t mesh and of course that means the group can’t possibly pull off a good performance.  Randy is actually cringing during some of the singing.  Simon asks if they can cut off one of the microphones.  I thought it was surprising that Mary, Hope and Alex all make it through to the next round.  Sometimes your reputation proceeds you, huh?

That’s it for the dreaded (and for good reason) group auditions.  We have 71 contestants moving on.  Don’t forget only 12 female and 12 males will make it.  Ryan quickly skims through a number of contestants that we have seen previously that are still in the running.  Some I recognize and some I don’t.  No one is standing out as a clear favorite for me yet, except for Andrew Garcia.  Stay tuned as AI whittles down to the final 24!  Bloggergal1

I am so excited that American Idol is finally at Hollywood week!  It’s about time new judge Ellen DeGeneres makes her first appearance.  She makes a comment to Simon about him planning to leave after she just arrived.  He gives her that typical Simon smile.

The first round of Hollywood week will have groups of 8 take the stage, sing and then be either moved forward or sent home.  All the contestants are pretty nervous and scared.  But, I think this part really weeds out the great from the good.  If you can’t take the pressure now, you won’t make it later on.  So it’s important to put it all out there, because it’s now or never.

The first group we see includes two of the contestants that have already been highlighted.  Katie Stevens is the young girl whose grandmother has Alzheimer’s.  She is really talented and a very natural performer.  In her group is Antonio “Skibooski” Wheeler.  Word on the street was that he has a criminal record.  Katie sails through to the next round and Antonio Wheeler conveniently is dismissed.  But he really can’t sing, so it’s not a big loss, now is it?

The next two highlighted are Vanessa Wolfe and Andrew Garcia.  Vanessa is the country girl that had never been on an “aeroplane”.  She was a nervous wreck and with no experience whatsoever, she can’t pull her act together for this audition.  Andrew Garcia is from a neighboring town near mine, so I’m pulling for him.  He’s the one who has two parents that were in gangs.  He accompanies himself on guitar and wows the audience and all the judges.  Andrew moves forward and Vanessa heads home.

We quickly go through Cornelius Edwards–he split his pants in his first audition, Meagan Wright–her little brother was her biggest fan, and Amadeo DiRocco–the Italian from Rhode Island and one of my personal “hopes”.  All three are heading home, oh well…

Three that will move on to the next round are Janell Wheeler(sorry I don’t remember anything about her!), 16 year-old Hailey Vaughn and rocker mom Mary Powers. That’s it for the first day in Hollywood.

Second day in Hollywood starts with Lilly Scott.  She has a unique look that includes white (silver?) hair.  She plays guitar and sings her way to the next round.  Michael Lynche is the big guy whose wife is in labor while he’s in Hollywood.  He uses that as his inspiration and he does really well.  He’s one of those that is really easy to root for.  I hate to be the bearer of bad news (STOP READING IF YOU DON’T WANT TO READ A SPOILER*****************************************************************************************************  You still there?   Check out  BBBlogger’s post a week or two ago.

The next group includes Justin Williams.  He was the contestant that survived cancer and is very cute too!  But, nope he doesn’t make it to the next round.  Also not making it through are Paige Dechaucy, Erica Rhodes, the Jersey sisters and Maddy Curtis.

Two that did make it through to the next round are Tim Urban and Casey James.  Casey wanted the opportunity to show his unique bluesy guitar performance and he sure does.

Remember Didi Benami?  She was the very emotional waitress whose girlfriend died.  She sings a Kara Deguardi song and the judges love her.  She made my husband comment so she really must be good!  LOL   Last, but certainly not least is Crystal Bowersox.  This Janis Joplin type singer also wows the judges.

That’s it for the first round in Hollywood.  Almost a hundred make it through to the next round.  Of those, we saw a handful, so we still really don’t know who is moving forward and who went home.  It is a bit frustrating.  Did Aaron from PA make it to the second round?  I guess maybe we will find out tomorrow, or maybe not.  The next round is the famous group round.  That’s when the contestants are put in groups and have to sing and perform together, whether they like each other or not.  Stay tuned…Bloggergal1

Tonight is the final audition show before Hollywood!  Yay!!! American Idol says they saved the best for last.  We get to see some of the contestants that they didn’t show us throughout the other weeks.

First we get another look at Larry “Pants On the Ground” Platt and hear how he’s influencing the whole country.  I know I keep singing that darn thing!

Jessica Furney is back after trying out for AI last year and not making it.  She gave herself a makeover and she sings a song that Simon co-wrote.  The judges say she definitely improved and she gets for Yes’s.

Three more Hollywood bound contestants are Amanda Schectman, Lee Dewzye and Crystal Bowersox.  Out of the three of them, Lee stood out to me.  But, once again, all the contestants are blending together and I can hardly tell one from the next.  It will be so great to get to Hollywood and start to get to know the contestants a little better.

Lacey Brown made it pretty far last season, but was cut before the top twenty-four.  She’s back for another try and she gets four Yes’s.

Next through to Hollywood are three sixteen-year-old’s.  I didn’t get their names and wasn’t super impressed.

Michael Lynche had arms like tree trunks and he sang a Righteous Brother’s song that had Kara and Kristen Chenoweth melting.  He sure is a big guy–kinda hot–do you think ladies?

Didi Benami had the first sad story of the night.  Her girlfriend died four years ago and Didi says she’s her inspiration.  She’s a good singer and she holds it together until after her audition.  We’ll meet up with her again in Hollywood.

I like this Pennsylvania boy Aaron Kelly!  Why?  Well, for starters, I am partial to those from Pennsylvania.  This sixteen-year-old comes across as a normal, adorable (judge quote), shy boy who can sing.  I think this kind of kid is what American Idol is all about.  Good luck Aaron!

Aaron’ s female counterpart has to be Hope Johnson.  She really touched me when they highlighted her.  She said that she was poor growing up and that she would save parts of her lunch to bring home to give to her little brother because he would cry from hunger.  How special is she?  She comes across similar to Aaron, kind of innocent and shy.  It will be interesting to see how far she can get in this competition.

So that’s it!  We have 181 contestants moving on to Hollywood week.  It won’t take very long for them to be whittled down to just 12 guys and 12 gals.  Of course, the big draw next week will be our first chance to see Ellen.  I can’t wait!  Stay tuned…Bloggergal1

This is finally the last week of auditions before American Idol heads to Hollywood.  Do I hear a woohoo?  Today’s stop is Denver, Colorado.  Today’s celebrity judge is once again Victoria Beckham.  I don’t mind her, she’s a decent judge, but I still say she needs to gain about 10 pounds.

The first contestant showcased tonight is talented!  Wow, will American Idol ever cease to amaze me?  Mark Labriolla is a twenty-eight year old from Colorado.  He tells the camera (and us) that he is often mistaken for Jack Black.  He does have a bit of resemblance to him.  Simon is fascinated with Mark’s story. His mother took off with him when he was four-years-old against his father’s wishes.  They remained on the run until he was ten when he was reunited with his dad and moved to Colorado.  He is on good terms with both parents now, but Simon tries to get some comedic moments out of it.  To make a long story short, he has “something” and he moves on to Hollywood.

Okay, something is wrong with my DVR.  I tried to fast forward through the commercial and it keeps skipping to the end of the show.  So, sorry, I didn’t get to see anything past the above!  It would be really great if someone would step up and fill me and everyone else in on what happened in Denver.  My husband watched and said he saw a lot of good talent for a change.  Unfortunately, I had to work last night (you know for REAL money!) and I couldn’t watch live.  Oh well.

Tonight is the last night of audition’s and American Idol promises us “the best auditions yet”.  We’ll see…so stay tuned…Bloggergal1

Hi Everybody!

Did you happen to catch last night’s Grammy awards?  If you did, then you noticed that American Idol is playing a big influence on the music world.  Past American Idol stars were everywhere.  Especially noteworthy was Carrie Underwood and Jennifer Hudson along with Usher, Celine Dion and Smokey Robinson in the tribute to Michael Jackson.  My personal American Idol, Adam Lambert did a stint as fashion reporter for Entertainment Tonight.  Ryan Seacrest hosted E’s Red Carpet show.  Also appearing on E was Larry “Pants on the Ground” Platt.  He’s one lucky guy to get to attend the Grammy’s.

Did I miss any other American Idol’s?  Let me know!  I’ll be back tomorrow night when American Idol goes to Denver Colorado, so stay tuned…Bloggergal1

Hi Everybody,

Why do we have to start with a bad performance every single time?  Neil Patrick Harris is guest judge for the first day in Dallas.  I love him from when he was Doogie Howser.  Can’t wait to get to Hollywood and see how Ellen does.  Of course, once we get to Hollywood, we’ll have to live through the inevitable contestant fights.  Oops, sorry, I wasn’t paying attention…

The first positive of the night is Lloyd Thomas.  He brings back memories of our teddy bear crooner Ruben Studdard.  His story resembles a lot of the stories we’ve heard so far this season…wanting to do good for his family, two children, lived in a bad neighborhood, dock worker, etc.  He has a good voice and receives four Yes votes.

AI sets up Neil Patrick Harris and Simon Colwell as “dueling” throughout the auditions.  Interesting that Neil seems to have taken over Simon’s roll, by asking for the votes, etc.  You go Neil!

Next to move on to Hollywood is teacher, Kimberly Carver.  My husband was reading and looking down and he liked her voice instantly, but Simon didn’t.  Lucky for her the other three judges saw something in her that Simon didn’t.

So did you ever watch Barney and Friends?  When my boys were little, I saw that show a lot, okay too much!   The next singer was one of the little kids on that show.  They ask her to sing the Barney song and she sings it pretty good.  Oh, did I mention that she’s dressed in some kind of S/M outfit?  Well anyway, she auditions to an En Vogue song and I don’t like it at all.  But she sails through to Hollywood.  Musta’ been the whip.

This is an interesting story.  Next up is Dave Pitman and he has Tourrettes syndrome.  The unusual thing is that when he sings, his Tourrettes doesn’t show.  It’s only when he’s not singing that you notice.  He can sing and you can’t help but want to see him succeed.  He moves on to Hollywood.

It’s the second day of auditions in Dallas.  Taking the place of Neil Patrick Harris is Joe Jonas.  In case you live under a rock, he’s a Jonas Brother, oh and he’s a cutie, but he’s really, really quiet.

When it was announced that Todrick Hall was in The Color Purple with Fantasia, I knew he would be a contender.  He did a really cute song that he wrote, but Simon wasn’t amused.  I liked him a lot.   His look was hot and his voice matched.  Even though Simon wasn’t amused, he still received four Yes votes.

American Idol flashes through a number of contestants who receive Yes votes.

Maegan Wright is featured along with her little brother–her biggest cheerleader.  She isn’t dressed to impress with a “break the rules” shirt, but she surprises the judges with her good, talented voice and gets four Yes votes.

Diagnosed with leukemia when she was four years old is Christian Spear.  She’s sixteen now and of course she can sing and on to Hollywood she goes.

I have to confess something.  I’m running out of things to say.  Each audition city is starting to blend into the next audition city.  The stories are all starting to blend into each other.  Next week we move on to Denver Colorado.  Stay tuned…Bloggergal1

Hi Everybody!

American Idol auditions are in Los Angeles tonight. Well actually, auditions are at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, but close enough I guess.  So when a contestant is “going to Hollywood” he or she is going about 20 minutes or so down the freeway!  Guest judge is Avril Lavigne.  Her hoodie has devil horns.  Is she trying to intimidate the contestants or the other judges?

We hear the first singer and I’m already yelling at the television! Enough already with Neil.  How annoying was that?  American Idol highlighted him way too long.  So in other words, fifteen minutes have gone by and we haven’t heard a “contender” yet.

Jim Ranger from Bakersfield, California sings a country/rock song that he wrote.  He’s good enough to move on, but Avril votes no.  Hopefully, she didn’t vote no because he has children and she didn’t think it was what he should do.  She was hinting at that.  Well, anyway, Simon, Kara and Randy send him on his way down the freeway to Hollywood.

Impressing all four judges with her raspy, punk rock voice is Mary Power.  She has an eight-year-old daughter who happens to love Simon.  Why, you ask?  Because he’s negative of course–isn’t that why all of us love him?  She moves on with four yes’s and definitely my yes.

Day two in Los Angeles…Avril is gone and Katy Perry takes her place, but it’s okay because she uses Proactiv too.  If you watched the commercials during AI, you understand what I mean.

Andrew Garcia comes from parents that lived in Compton and were involved in gangs.  They managed to escape that life and move to a better area.  Andrew has a wife and child and seems really authentic and he can sing!  Hopefully, he’s going to be a contender.

Side note…forty-five minutes of the show have flown by and only three “talented” contestants have been featured so far.  <sigh>

Next to make it to Hollywood is Tasha Layton, personal assistant by day, minister by night.  This southern belle sails through to Hollywood.

I don’t usually comment on the “no” contestants, but I loved Jason Greene.  I know he was there for the entertainment factor and he sure provided that, didn’t he?

Before the commercial, Ryan teases us by saying that we should be prepared to be blown away.  We haven’t been blown away all season, so I sure hope so!

Katy and Kara don’t seem to be hitting it off.  Katy has quite a mouth on her and her goal is to annoy Kara.  She sure did that.  I have to admit I found her annoying too.

Heart-tugging story of the night is Chris Golightly.  This twenty-five year old spent his entire childhood in foster care.  He estimates he lived in over twenty-five foster homes.  This cutie with blond curls reminds me of the first season contestant (and amore’s pal) Justin Guarini.  Ryan said he’d blow me away, but frankly he didn’t.  He sang well, he was a looker, but I’m not raving about him.

A lot more make it through to Hollywood, but unfortunately once again, we don’t get to hear them sing.  Tomorrow night, we move on to Dallas Texas where we’ll meet my favorite guest judge Neil Patrick Harris, along with that big purple dinosaur Barney!  Sounds like an interesting night, so stay tuned…Bloggergal1

Source: MSNBC

‘Idol’ contestant cut after dad talks to paper
Lynche’s father violated confidentiality agreement, according to report

A moment of pride has turned to sorrow as an “American Idol” contestant has been cut from the competition after violating a confidentiality agreement, according to a report.

Michael Lynche (a.k.a. Big Mike) was reportedly told to pack his bags after his father revealed to his local Florida paper, The St. Petersburg Times, that Michael had made the top 24 — a violation of Idol rules requiring the singers and their families to keep the Hollywood week results quiet until they’re broadcast.

The New York Post, citing Idol spoiler site Joe’s Place, says Michael was replaced in the top 24 over the weekend. FOX has declined to comment on the report.

If Lynche has indeed been booted, he wouldn’t be the first. Last season, Joanna Pacitti was replaced by Felicia Barton on the list of top 36 contestants. FOX would not give a reason other than Pacitti was found to be “ineligible to continue in the competition.” But her dismissal followed reports that she had connections to executives at Idol producer Simon Fuller’s 19 Entertainment.

Source: MSNBC

Peace, BBBlogger

Hi Everybody!

With auditions for American Idol heading to Los Angeles this week, I started thinking.  What is the audition process really like?  Do you realize how many truly amazing singers must be turned away every year?  On Friday night, my husband and I attended Temecula Live.  This all country music talent-type show has become a tradition in Temecula, California.  The show is held for three nights and has different performers each night.  The singers are always amazing and range from little kids to adults that have taken up singing later in life.  Every time one of the singers hit the stage, I would turn to my husband and say, “They could make it on Idol”.  But they don’t.  Why?  Because for every one of the singers on the Temecula Live stage there is probably a hundred just as good.

So what do you need to be an American Idol?  Something besides a good voice that’s for sure.  Maybe a sad story that will lead to a happy ending?   We always love those, don’t we?  Members of the military/police have a bit of a better shot.  It doesn’t hurt to have an unusual look or dress a little different–but be careful–not too different!  I’m not sure what the formula is.  Perhaps it changes year to year or even audition to audition?  Well anyway, I’m sure Los Angeles saw its share of really good performers not make the cut; but Tuesday at 8:00, we’ll see who does.

Enjoy the playoffs today.  Stay tuned…Bloggergal1